In June, a mother and child take a walk through Blandford Nature Center Sally Finneran MLive.com

GRAND RAPIDS, MI - The leadership of the nonprofit Blandford Nature Center has serious concerns about Grand Rapids schools potential expansion of its Blandford School because of the impact on wildlife, plants and programming.

"We provide programming and opportunities to support our community of more than one million people, not just the school," said Annoesjka Steinman, executive director of the Blandford Nature Center, who said the school and center are not one and the same. "We have to make sure we don't get loved to death."

Blandford School, an environmental education program, located at 3143 Milo Ave. NW, just east of the center, consistently has waiting lists and attracts students from throughout county. The test-in school is a Reward School, ranked in top 5 percent of all state schools on combined measures of student achievement and student growth over time.

In the major district restructuring plan Superintendent Teresa Weatherall Neal unveiled Oct. 29, Blandford School is listed under the category of "planned growth" with a recommendation to expand to add two more sections of 6th grade to serve 120 instead of 60 kids. The place-based curriculum is designed to use the natural setting to provide hands-on experiences that fulfill the requirements in each subject area.

"The traffic from the increased number of kids will have a negative impact on the plants and wildlife and students would be in areas during our programs," said Steinman, who said they already know the impact caused from just 60 kids. "We manage this 143-acre proper for habitat and have to be very concerned about traffic."

Also in the district's planned growth category was expanding the Zoo School for 60, 6th graders, to serve grades sixth through eighth-grade, and making the PreK-8 C.A. Frost Environmental Academy a high school. Both schools also utilize the nature center as a classroom.

In the proposal, the district cites cons, including "potential negative impact on model/program; dilution of program to increase enrollment. Increased school-based use of Blandford Nature Center may be a concern, especially if CA Frost expansion happens."

"This is an awesome model that clearly works, we'd like to bring the Blandford experience to existing schools," said Steinman. "We want kids to play in nature and learn to love it."

John Helmholdt, communications director for Grand Rapids schools, said the district is highly sensitive to their partners concerns and that's why the expansion is in Phase 2, under planned growth.

"We need to explore whether it is a viable option," he said. "We are not going to do anything without the engagement, involvement, and support of our partners."

A groundbreaking was held this spring on a new Blandford School, with a capital campaign goal of $2.3 million reached. The Wege Foundation offered the lead commitment of $1.5 million. Students are expected to be in the new building at the first of the year.

If the district did expand, it would need to seek private funding for the $700,000 expansion.

Read the district's transformation plan for yourself on the GRPS's website.
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